I'll Be Back
by lichenstein-blop
Summary: Luffy left Ace a message to pass on to his friends after he died protecting Ace in the war. Will this message prevent the straw hat crew from going different paths? and what connection does this message have to do with a mysterious baby that appears in the East Blue? Female!Luffy
1. Chapter 1

**I'll Be Back**

**Warnings:** oOc. Alive!Ace. Grammatical Errors.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One piece, Oda Eiichiro does

this chapter has a lot of flash backs from the war and all but enjoy~ ( Some parts won't be exactly the same as what happened during the actual battle.)

* * *

Chapter 1: The Message

* * *

The man that was wearing his trademark orange hat as he turned towards a crowd of pirates and fell to his knees on the green grass. "You guys not only gave me a reason to live, but you also gave me a family. I was overjoyed when you risked your lives to come save me, but over the past few days, I have caused you guys trouble. So I should express my gratitude now." He paused for a moment and bowed his head, causing his orange hat to fall to the ground and revealing his tears. "Thank you."

There was a moment of silence before there was a eruption of sobs and laughs.

"YOU'RE WELCOME ACE!"

A blonde man put his hand on his hips and sighed happily at this exchange. He walked up to Ace who was still on the floor and let his hand out. "Ace, how long are you going to stay there for yoi?"

"Marco..." Ace looked up at the brotherly figure in front of him and grabbed his outstretched hand.

"You've given your respects to those two I suppose?" Another man with red hair that looked a bit shaggy to be a captain at first glance but the black captain cape that draped on his shoulders and the air of transcendence surrounding him proved otherwise.

"Yeah," Ace and Marco both turned to the direction of that man's attention which were the two graves behind them.

The two graves were surrounded by bouquets of flowers and swords as a flurry of petals danced around. The larger one had 'Edward-Newgate' engraved on it and his weapon: a bisento stuck downwards on the grave as the large white cape that used to hang on broad shoulders was attached at the end. The jolly roger of the White beard pirates also hung from it, representing the crews pride and joy.

The smaller grave was incidentally less magnificent but had just as much respect and blessing as the other. Two wooden sticks in the shape of a cross was on top of the grave as a straw-hat rested on one of the sticks and the other had Captain John's treasure mark, which was forcefully taken away from Buggy the clown. The name engraved on it was 'Monkey-D-Luffy'.

"They were both men to be respected," Red Haired said.

"Yeah," Ace nodded in agreement before turning his full attention to the larger grave. "Oyaji accepted me and became a father I could be proud of. I am sure how much I owe him cannot be expressed in words."

"Is there anything else you're grateful to him for?" Red hair suggested.

"More than I can count," Ace laughed lightly "But the most grateful thing now is definitely how he stopped me before I recklessly tried to attack Akainu again. He stopped me from throwing away the life Luffy gave me..."

* * *

XxFLASH BACKxX

* * *

_Admiral Akainu walked towards the two brothers, one of his arms dripping with magma. "Hm! I see I've destroyed Straw-hat instead, unexpected but still acceptable. Now that one of the sons of a cursed bloodline has died, now it's finally your turn Fire Fist Ace!" he announced with a cynical grin on his face as he launched another fist at Ace. _

_"ACE! RUN AWAY!" _

_"Luffy...oi...Luffy...why are you just lying there?...Luffy...wake up..." Ace wavered, unable to connect his mind to reality. _

_"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. _

_Flames erupted from Ace, causing Akainu to instinctively jump back as the flames glided around the battlefield surrounding Ace. The marines fell back and the allied pirates and crew members reluctantly fled from the ring of fire. _

_The flames pulled everything into a fiery embrace, melting the swords, burning the corpses. It circled around so fast that some marines were still trapped, preventing evacuation. This was completely Ace's domain. A barrier barely maintaining balance, threatening to break down at any moment. His eyes were dilated, all his anger directed at Akainu. Defeating him was the only thought that kept him standing._

_Spluttering coughs and screams from the marines didn't make it into Ace's conscience nor did the yells from his companions telling him to run. Akainu was drawing near, unaffected by the fire. The flames licked at his marines coat, the fiery arms tried to burn him but all was useless. His magma burned it all. It was overpowering. _

_Akainu didn't need to escape, he wasn't threatened by the rampage of the Mera Mera no Mi and was even laughing cynically. "Have you lost your wits? Your fire cannot burn through magma no matter how you try! But this is better for me, no one can come in and save you from my fist!_

_"ARGHHH!" Ace charged at Akainu._

**_xxxx_**

_Marco looked from the sky, finally spotting Ace amidst all the fire. "Ace! What are you doing yoi!?" Marco shouted as Ace's reckless action. _

_"What's wrong Marco?" Jozu called from below at the sudden change of expression on his pals face, for the worse that is._

_"Ace is attacking Akainu! His brother's death caused him to lose it yoi!"_

_"Oi, oi, oi! At this rate, the life his brother gave him will go down the drain!"_

_"I'm going to try stop it yoi!" Marco swooped down, hoping that he will make it in time._

**_xxxx_**

_"DIE FIRE FIST A-"_

_Akainu was interrupted as a sudden monster like man broke through the flames and interjected the battle._

_"Whitebeard! You can't do anything by coming here! Fire Fist will be executed by me!" _

_Whitebeard took a glance at the mental state his son was in and then at Luffy lying on the ground in a pool of blood pouring from his chest. Without a word of retort to Akainu, he swung his fist at the marine in a silent rage. It cracked the air and connected with Akainu's stomach. From the great damage, he spluttered out blood. _

_Ace was still charging in Akainu's direction like how a bull charges at a red flag. Whitebeard, disregarding the wounds he had and the pain that he will receive from doing this, he fell to one knee and hugged Ace. _

_"Ace...calm down.." He winced at the burns he was receiving from Ace's burning body but there was no sign that Ace had calmed down._

_ "DON'T THROW AWAY THE LIFE YOUR BROTHER DIED TO PROTECT!" a sadness and regret reflected in Whitebeard's eyes._

* * *

"...and after that, I woke up on your ship." Ace confessed to Red hair.

"And you sure did a number to it" Shanks reminisced back to the day Ace woke up after the War had ended.

* * *

_XxFLASH BACKxX_

* * *

_"ARGH!" Pain travelled through his body with each step he took, each move he made, but there was something more important than his body right now. "WHERE IS LUFFY?!"_

_"Fire Fist! Calm down! You'll destroy our ship!" the men around Ace shouted as they avoided Ace's flaming fists. _

_Ace's punches burnt through the wood, completely destroying the cabin he was staying in. His fists were bloodied and eyes were dilated. He didn't want to accept the truth. He didn't want to close his eyes or else he would remember the blood on his hands, the limp body in front of him, the weakling that protected him from the magma blow. _

_"CAPTAIN!" the men screamed in relief together as the red haired captain made his way to Ace._

_"Ace..." _

_In a swift movement he pinned Ace down to the floor by his neck. Ace struggled and attempted to escape from the grasp. Shanks hands were indeed getting burned but he didn't flinch because he needed to bring Ace back to reality._

_"LUFFY IS DEAD!" he said bluntly, inciting more struggle from Ace. "YOU'RE BEING CONSUMED BY DARK CLOUDS OF REGRET AND SELF-BLAME! INSTEAD OF LAMENTING OVER WHAT IS LOST, THINK OF WHAT HE LEFT YOU! WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR HIM?"_

* * *

"That was some way to cheer me up, throwing the truth smack bang in the face." Ace stated as a chuckle came from Marco on his side.

"You needed the truth, no sugar-coated words. You can only stand up against reality by knowing it."

"Regardless, I'm grateful." Ace grinned. " You gave me a push to move forward."

"So, what are you going to do yoi?" Marco joined in the conversation, curious of Ace's decision.

"I'm going to carry on Luffy's will."

"His will?" both men around Ace questioned.

"Just before Luffy died...he left me a message."

* * *

_XxFLASH BACKxX_

* * *

_"There is a enormous gap of strength between your strength and mine, Fire Fist." Akainu mocked Ace on the ground who had already exceeded his limits fighting him. Akainu had utmost confidence in his abilities that he will not let the sworn brothers of the worst criminals escape. _

_"Come on Ace! Get up! Run away!" Luffy screamed at his brother who was not budging from the approaching danger. The others members of the crew who were helping the two escape also noticed this and proceeded to save Ace._

_"This is your fate, NOW DIE!" A magma fist closing in on Ace._

_Sorry Luffy, after you went through all this trouble to save me. Ace thought. I no longer have the strength to evade._

_A brief pause._

_Ace was fine, no magma has pierced him. But why? He glanced up, a person had stood between Akainu's attack and protected him. Their chest was pierced by Akainu's magma arm and was dripping copious amounts of blood, amounts that would kill them even if their burned guts gets miraculously cured. _

_But who had sacrificed themselves? Was it Oyaji? Maybe it was Luffy? But neither of these possibilities seemed feasible. Or maybe Ace unconsciously avoided the truth because the person who saved him would definitely lose their life. He didn't even want to think that Oyaji or Luffy jumped in just to protect him. _

_The build of the person in front of him was small, but had lean muscles. So the possibilities of it being Whitebeard has now reached zero. _

_The smoke disappeared as Akainu retracted his arm from the body while wearing a look of triumph. The person was revealed. The person with a scar under his left eye and wore a straw-hat. Luffy. _

_"Ace's brother!" Marco screamed remembering the words of Whitebeard that he failed to keep_

_'Don't let that boy die Marco'_

_"Straw-hat boy!"_

_"Straw hat!"_

_"Seriously?" words escaped Buggy's mouth at the sight._

_Ace grimaced, his eyes wide with terror as Luffy fell from his position and draped his arms around Ace who reached forward and caught the boy._

_"Luffy...Hey? Can you hear me? You'll be fine, right?" Ace's voice wavered with uncertainty, contradictory to what he said before. _

_No reply._

_Ace shuddered when he felt something covering his hand that was placed over Luffy's injury. Blood. Luffy's blood. _

_"Luffy...we have to treat your injury..." Ace scanned the area for his ship's doctor, fortunately the doctor was already running towards them. _

_"Oi! Please help Luffy!" Ace tugged at the man's sleeve who didn't bother to do anything once he saw Luffy's state. _

_"Ace-san, I'm sorry." The doctor muttered, unable to say the harsh truth and ended up biting his lip so hard it started bleeding._

_"what do you mean?" Ace was desperate. Who else could save Luffy? Then he spotted a big-faced man, remembering that he saved Luffy, who was on the brink of death earlier._

_"I know! Your name was Ivankov right? Please, I'm begging you! Use that thing that you used to shoot Luffy with earlier!"_

_Ivankov clenched his fists and wanted to avert his eyes away from the scene, it was too heart-breaking. "I can't Ace-boy."_

_"Why?!"_

_"Straw-boy was nearly poisoned to death during Impel Down, he was beaten to the point he couldn't move earlier. He only managed to continue because of his extraordinary will that defies nature to save you. This time, Straw-boy...is beyond...help." _

_"No way...I won't believe it!" _

_"Ace..." A weak voice called out._

_"Luffy! It's ok, I won't let you die." Ace reassured but his grim expression said otherwise._

_"Ace...I've got to tell you something..." Luffy weakly began before harshly coughing out blood._

_"Luffy! Don't say anymore!"_

_The sound of magma sizzling the ground was approaching._

_"Jinbei...phoenix-guy...Iva-chan...please...keep that magma-guy...away for a while ...so I can talk...to Ace." _

_Marco, Jinbei and Ivankov were startled out of their shock and sadly listened to the final wishes of Luffy. A wave of anger surged through them as they charged at Akainu._

_"Ace, I saved you! So I don't have regrets..." Luffy wheezed _

_"Luffy! Don't sound like you're going to die!"_

_"Ace, you know, even now I want to become Pirate King so don't worry..." Luffy leans forward and whispers something in Ace ears, tears brimming in the corner of his eyes. "Tell that to my friends around the world, okay? It's my final request." _

_"Luffy..."_

_Luffy took the deepest breath he could before it backfired and he started coughing out blood. Using the last of his strength, there was something he need to convey._

_"JII-CHAN! SHANKS! IVA-CHAN! JINBEI! HANCOCK! ZORO!NAMI! SANJI! CHOPPER! ROBIN! FRANKY! BROOK! USOPP! AND ACE!" Luffy screamed to his limits "SORRY! I'M DEAD...-" A smile that stretched from ear to ear crossed Luffy's face seconds before his vision blurred up and fell to the floor._

* * *

"So what are you planning to do Ace?" Shanks asked for both the reason of knowing Ace's objectives and as a subject change because hearing Luffy's death was hurting his ears.

The three of them walked through the crowds of pirates to the ships as they continued their conversation.

"I'm going to find Luffy's friends scattered around the world and then I'm going to find the gum-gum fruit." Ace stated confidently , meaning that no matter what anyone tells him, he going to do it.

Shanks jolted up in surprise when he heard Ace's second decision but no one noticed, except for his crewmates. "I see. Then this is where we part." Shanks climbed up the stairs to his ship. "Ace, don't doubt yourself."

"I won't." Then Ace remembered something he needed to ask. "Red Hair! Do you mind if I take your hat with me?"

Shanks smiled "No! It's not my hat anymore! It looks better on Luffy!"

"Red hair!" Marco called out, which Shanks did not expect to happen while he was leaving. "Thanks for the burial!"

Shanks gave a wave of his hand before looking away.

* * *

"Captain," Lucky Roo chomped off some meat before continuing. "Are you sure it was okay not to tell Ace?"

"Tell him what?"

"That we are planning to look for the Gum-gum fruit too." Benn Beckman casually joined.

"Ah...I forgo-"

"Don't tell us you forgot, you CLEARY remembered." Yasopp also appeared from no-where and cut shanks off before he could even spout a bad excuse.

"Well, you know. The fruit was originally ours but Luffy ate it, so I think it's proper that we get it back." Shanks said averting eye contact with any of his crewmates.

"Liar." They all said simultaneously

"Just be honest captain..." Lucky Roo started

"And flat out admit that..." Benn Beckman followed

"You don't want anybody else eating the fruit Luffy ate." Yasopp finished.

"..." Shanks wondered why his crewmates were so perceptive, he didn't mention anything about the reason why they were going to search for that fruit and they, like psychics, read his mind. He never considered the possibility that he was just bad at hiding it.

" No one should be surprised if we search for that fruit, considering the way we waltzed into that war, we have already established to the marines our relationship with Luffy."

* * *

_XxFLASH BACKxX_

* * *

_"Let us stop this War!" Coby jumped in front of Akainu's attack at a pirate, stretching his hands out, hoping that this gesture could make the Admiral stop. "Just let Fire Fist Ace go! We can't catch up anymore!"_

_"What are you doing? You've wasted a few seconds of my time you failure of a marine" Akainu said in a deep voice. His pride obviously hurt by Coby's words. He looked a bit-well, ridiculously-miffed."That ship First fist is on won't escape, I won't let it escape! Now MOVE IT!"_

_"NO! WE HAVE ALREADY KILLED STRAW HAT LUFFY AND WHITEBEARD HAS DIED! IF WE DON'T STOP NOW, LIVES WILL DIE IN VAIN! FIRE FIST HAS ALREADY SAILED AWAY! RIGHT NOW WE ARE BETTER OF SAVING THE WOUNDED AND CAPTURING THE REST OF THE PIRATES!_

_"Impudent brat! If you're not going to move, then DIE!" Akainu directed his fist at Coby._

_Ah I'm going to die, but it's ok, I've said what I wanted! Coby thought as he closed his eyes._

_Clash._

_"Well done young marine, your few seconds of courage have definitely saved lives." Shanks appeared in front of Coby with his sword drawn, defending Coby from Akainu's attack. _

_"One of the Yonkou, Red haired Shanks." Akainu growled "What are you doing here."_

_"To put a stop to this war."_

_"A stop? That's impossible, it won't stop until Fire Fist is executed!"_

_Shanks brow twitched and stared coldly at Akainu who flinched at the sudden change of aura. "Ace carries the life of someone** important** to me that **you** have killed."_

_"Ace has survived, so the Whitebeard pirate have no reason to fight anymore, but if you want to continue, we.." Shanks announced with his formidable pirate crew behind him. "..will gladly take you on."_

* * *

"No, I'm sure they would have realised the connection we had with Luffy ages ago, especially Sengoku, the admirals and Garp." Shanks said.

"Oh! I get it! The straw hat!"

Shanks nodded, remembering Hawk eyes words as they came across each other.

_"That man, Monkey D Luffy has a potential hidden in him that could change the world, I don't think it will end like this." _

Shanks buried his head in his hands. "I don't wish for it to end like this either."

* * *

"Ace is it true you're leaving yoi?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving tonight. I've got to give the message to Luffy's friends as soon as possible." Ace brushed the petals off Luffy's hat, bringing back both sad and happy memories.

"Ace! Do you know where they all are yoi?"

"Nope."

"How are you going to find all eight of them yoi?"

"Gut instinct."

"What if it doesn't work?"

"It will."

"That's a groundless statement yoi." Marco placed a hand on his face and sighed.

"I have to find them, before they all choose to split ways when they hear of Luffy's death."

"Ace, after all this, don't you know what family are for yoi?" Marco grinned with his hand on his hip.

"That's right Ace! If you need help just say so!" voices emerged from the shadows.

Ace glanced up to see six friends standing proudly next to Marco.

"Jozu...Vista...Rakuyo...Namur...Haruta...Izo...yo u guys, what are you doing?"

"We are going to lend you a hand!"

"Eight of us, each person finds one."

"But...but..but..." Ace complained even though he was grateful from the bottom of his heart.

"Your thoughts are all rejected yoi!" Marco announced, punching Ace friendly on his shoulder.

"Not to mention that we owe your little brother for saving a member of our family!"

"So Ace, tell us your plan yoi!"

* * *

**East Blue, Fuusha Village**

CrAsH!

"Makino, did you break another cup? That's unusual of you." The old man sat on the chair in the bar, watching the woman pick up the shards of glass.

"Sorry Mayor, I'm a bit distracted today." Makino passed off with a faint smile, her complexion was paler than ever.

"Is it the war that Ace and Luffy are involved in?"

Makino flinched, further dropping the shards she just picked up.

"Bulls-eye."

"They are both going to be alright, right?" Makino's voice wavered, she already seemed like she was going to start crying.

"It has been three days since, the newspaper should arrive tomorrow. Why are you disturbed already?"

"I don't know Mayor." Makino sighed, looking at her shivering hand. "I have a bad premonition about the news tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it, Ace was probably rescued by his Captain and once he's free he will definitely protect Luffy."

"I hope things moved that smoothly."

. Tap.

Makino heard something rattle the windows panes _Is it the wind? But there shouldn't be any wind strong enough to rattle the windows_ Makino thought as she walked towards the windows, talking a peak behind the curtains.

"Ah!" Makino tumbled backwards, clearly startled by something she saw outside.

"What's wrong Makino?" The Mayor helped the lady up.

"M-mayor...do cranes exist?"

The mayor had this perplexed expression, wondering what she could have seen for her to suddenly ask about cranes. "Yes they do exist, but they can't be seen here in the East Blue, especially such a small island like ours." The Mayor answered, displaying his knowledge.

"I-I-I just saw one outside." Makino's sweat dropped as she pointed to the window.

"No way!" the Mayor pushed open the door, unable to believe that there is a crane here unless he saw it with his own eyes but he also knew that Makino wasn't a liar. As soon as the door opened, a cold, icy breeze drifted in, causing the two people to shiver and close their eyes.

The mayor opened his eyes once the breeze blew by and found a soft, silky feather on his head.

"Hm?"

"Wahhhhh!" a cry from a baby.

Tug.

Makino yanked on his sleeve.

"What is it Makino-" he stopped in his sentence as he saw what caught Makino's attention.

A small baby wrapped in white at the entrance. A newborn perhaps? It still couldn't open its eyes but it was shivering from the cold and so, despite the circumstances, the humanly thing to do was the bring it inside.

The mayor felt a chill go through his body, draining his power. It was beyond just tired, it was closer to exhaustion. He slumped into a chair while Makino cheerfully played with the stranger of a baby. He couldn't even understand what was going on. First a crane then a baby. Great.

Makino giggled while the baby cooed at her. Makino was still young so the it looked like a normal family scene, a mother and her child.

"This baby is soooo cute!" Makino blushed when the small fingers wrapped around her finger. "Reminds me of Luffy when he was small, see there is even a scar under the left eye." pointing out the small scar. Ouch.

_What did this baby go through to get that scar? It's probably not even a year old!_ The mayor thought.

"But too bad it's not a boy though." Makino's face dropped. "But as a girl, she is twice as cute!" instantly recovering, bringing the baby girl into her arms. A white piece of paper fell to the floor from the movement.

"Is it from the baby?" The Mayor said as he reached to pick it up. _Is it an abandon note? _harsh words flitted through the Mayors mind.

"What's this?" Mayor looked at the piece of paper. It was nothing like a note, actually, it couldn't even be considered a 'note' for it only had one word on it.

"Lucy?"

* * *

"...so that's the plan." Ace explained "If you decide to do it, you might not be able to come back here for a long time. Still in?"

The seven people nodded in agreement.

"Ace, a few years ain't that bad yoi! We still have commanders on the Island to protect the burial!"

"And if we don't do this for your little brother, Oyaji will get frown at us." Jozu said and everyone smiled, which meant that they agreed.

"by the way yoi, you've told us the plan and all but what's the message that your brother wanted to pass on?"

"Oh." Ace almost forgot the most important detail.

The seven of them leaned forward for the answer. "Hurry up and tell us! We've got to depart! The message is..."

Ace laughed at the childish act that they were performing before answering, he took a deep breath and said,

"...I'll be back."

* * *

**A/N: **hahahah how did you like it?

Until next time~

please revieww :D


	2. Chapter 2

**I'll Be Back**

**Warnings: **oOc-ness. spelling errors, grammar and all.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One piece, Oda Eiichiro does

* * *

"Rayleigh, you're drinking too much."

Despite the word of advice from the female bartender, he silently ignored it and chugged down another bottle of alcohol. Having finished the bottle, he slammed it loudly on the counter before his hands instinctively supported his head that was spinning from a headache. The effects of digesting copious amounts of liquor in the morning were kicking in.

The man at the counter was dressed rather simply; he wore a plain t-shirt, shorts and sandals. He didn't look strong, if anything, he was a bit shaggy. But maybe working as coating mechanic such was probably a given. However, his large silver hooded cloak concealed his physique so it wouldn't be surprising if he was well-toned and had incredible strength. Taking his previous profession in account, such an idea was feasible. After all, how many people in a million that were chosen by random were once the right-hand man of a pirate king?

"Told you so." The female bartender said as she took the initiative to just take the bottle away if he wasn't going to listen.

"Shakky..." He said after letting out a sigh. The sigh and the abnormal copious amounts of alcohol in the morning were not for washing away stress and worries, nor was it for forgetting troubles . It was a distraction, a way of temporarily running from reality. Because the entirety of it was thrown upon a newspaper article that was cast to the side. It read in bold letters:

**The Great War brought to an end! Fire Fist Ace Escapes! The Era ends with the Death of Yonkou, 'Whitebeard' Edward Newgate and Rookie Pirate 'Straw-hat' Monkey D. Luffy!**

"How do you feel?"

Shakky held her cigarette in one hand and thought. "Dejected, melancholy, mournful." she answered.

"Hahaha, don't they all mean the same thing?" Rayleigh smiled. It was one of the saddest smiles ever.

There was no need to question why Shakky could remain composed even though she honestly spoke her feelings. She wasn't lying in any way nor was she apathetic. She never expressed those feelings around others. It may just be part of her job as the bartender or she was like that to the core. Really, she was a women shrouded in mystery.

"But...also relieved." She continued while reaching forward for the newspaper.

"You should understand what I'm saying Rayleigh." she said, flipping through the pages. Majority of the paper were filled-updated with every detail-of the great war. Finally coming upon the last page of the article, she smiled warmly.

"Monkey-chan's smile is as charming as ever, even after death. "

It was the picture of Luffy at his last. A simple pure smile. The smile that attracted people to him, the smile that made people want to be his ally, the smile that people loved and respected. An unforgettable memory.

"You're right Shakky, he saved his brother with his life and so he was able to die with a smile."

"But another thing... that made me relieved was when Ace-chan came in here to ask for the whereabouts of Monkey-chan's crew the other day." Shakky gave a small smile as she recalled the day Ace and the some other Whitebeard pirates came.

**xxxxxxx**

_A knock came from outside Shakky's Rip-off bar._

_"Oi Shakky! Ray-san! Are you here?" _

_"Yes we are come in!" Shakky called out from inside the bar with Rayleigh sitting casually at the counter like he usually does whenever he's bored. Both of them wondered who in Sabaody would actually bother performing a socially-ordinary task such as knocking. Pirates would just march stating their business and marines would probably do something similar except they would state something about doing it in the name of justice. Friends would also just nonchalantly walk in as if it were their own home. Though not much customers do come, as the name states, it's a rip-off bar. _

_There were eight people that walked in were all quite familiar, they were buddies that they haven't seen for some time. _

_"If it isn't the Whitebeard Pirates!" Rayleigh said, "How have you been?"_

_"Couldn't be any worse yoi" The man with the blonde pineapple like hair answered. "It was a pain coming here unnoticed by the marines since the war had just ended." _

_A circuit in Rayleigh's brain connected. The great war. The biggest war that shook the world but the outcomes have yet come out. The world wide broadcast got cut off half-way when Ace had been rescued so everybody is still on their toes for the news coo. _

_"Then if you guys are here then that must mean that Whitebeard is..." Before Rayleigh could finish, the sad expression that dawned upon the pirates had already said something. _

_"What are you guys here for?" Shakky said, changing the topic of discussion. _

_"We heard that you guys might know about the whereabouts of the Straw-hat crew." The man that was at the centre of the war pushed through his friends, appearing in front of Rayleigh. _

_"ACE! You managed to escape safely after you were freed!" Rayleigh somehow managed to piece together some events of what happened after the Video was cut. _

_Ace was freed. Whitebeard died to let his crew escape. But still, some pieces of information was still missing. He doubted that the marines would let them escape that easily, especially after finding out that Roger's bloodline still lived but there was one more thing that he needed to ask. "What about Luffy?" _

_"Luffy, he died." _

_"..."_

_those words must have been hard for Ace to say. Luffy did say in the war that he was saving Ace even if he died but how many people in the world believed that the little rookie could change the tides of the biggest war in the world?_

_"So what are you going to do after finding out the whereabouts of Monkey-chan's crew?" Shakky said._

_Ace reached for his bag that was covered by his cloak and he pulled out a straw-hat. Rayleigh noticed a flame of determination igniting in Ace's eyes._

_"I'm- We are going to send them to the next era." _

_"But won't they go down different paths knowing that Monkey-chan's dead?" Of course, Shakky asked this question to hear Ace's determination and she see if anything could shake it. But it was also a simple state of the truth. Because as much as she thinks how compatible Monkey-chan's crew is, there is also the undeniable fact that most crews disband when their captain has died._

_Ace raised his left eyebrow and smirked. "Then I'll just have to convince them before they do." his eyes didn't waver nor was there any hesitation. There was no visible sense of anxiety, he was just kind disappointed because he was expecting a much complex question. His eyes were saying:_

_"It's going to take more than that to shake my resolve."_

**_xxxxxxxxxx_**

"Geez, despite what he says, there's no doubt that he is Roger's son." Rayleigh chuckled and acted most naturally and attempted to take back his bottle.

"You're right," Shakky said while also 'naturally' sliding the bottle a few centimetres down the counter just so it was out of Rayleigh grasp. "I'm was relieved when I saw him live on. If he planned to waste the life Monkey-chan gave him, I would have punched him."

"Shakky, you say the scariest things with the most ease."

"But even if Ace-chan stops them from taking their own paths, who are they going to wait for?"

"I don't know. But just as I believe Luffy was born to inherit Roger's will, someone will be born to inherit Luffy's."

* * *

**East Blue, Fuusha Village.**

Garp held his hand on the railing on the ship and was preparing to set foot on the village but he hesitated for a moment.

"Vice-Admiral Garp, we don't not have much time to stay at this unknown village." A marine called from behind Garp noticing the hesitation in his eyes.

"We have incoming orders to search for the Gum Gum fruit before other pirates find it."

Garp's face twisted in pain at the mention of that fruit. Lately anything that has some sort of connection to his late grandson left a bad taste in his mouth. Was it the regret of not being able to save him? or was it just him bearing a grudge against himself for being indecisive?

"I got it, I just have some business to do here." Garp grumbled, not facing his subordinates and began walking towards the busiest bar in the Village.

His subordinates shivered when they noticed the rail that Garp held break into smaller parts and fall to the floor. Their Vice-Admiral had lost the composure he once had and was losing sight of his priorities. Duty or family, he had to choose. But now with the family choice eliminated, there was only duty left. What words of comfort could subordinates say to bring him back? With no words, they just silently followed that back and hoped for time to help.

The wind blew by and Garp heard the rustling sound of a newspaper brushed against his leg.

"Ah it's Garp-san!"

"Garp-san!"

Citizens noticed his group of marines and himself standing there and immediately rushed towards him. Garp guessed that they wanted a confirmation of the truth. They want to hear it from the mouth of the one who witnessed and participated in the whole event.

The great war. Luffy.

All the villagers that were rushing towards him-even the ones that joined the stampede halfway when someone loudly mentioned Garp's arrival-stopped when there was a clatter of broken tables and chairs in the busiest bar nearby.

"W-wait! Dadan-san!" A pleading voice called out from within the bar.

A woman with wavy, orange-coloured hair appeared from the bar. Her eyes were cursing the Vice Admiral from the marines. The villagers felt her nasty vibe stepped back, making a passage to Garp. The marines behind Garp knew that this woman wasn't holding any good intentions and started loading their guns for an attack and pressed forward.

Garp took a giant step in front of them and stretched his hand out. "Don't interfere, I know her."

Without wasting a second, the woman charged forward and gave Garp a hard shove, causing him to topple on his back. They were all surprised at the sudden attack, but the marines were even more bewildered at their boss's lack of defence. After all, there was no way the legendary marine known as 'Garp the Hero' would fall from just a push. So then it only leaves the possibility that he didn't resist and let himself be shoved to the ground.

The woman mounted Garp on the ground and plunged her fist into his face.

Garp didn't even need to contemplate her action. In this situation, she was no longer the bandit and he was no longer the marine. She was just a foster mother in despair, venting out her anger on the man who he couldn't make a decision in time.

"WHY!?" she yelled.

A fist to the same cheek from before.

"WHY?"

The opposite cheek took a blow. The next moment, his right cheek was dealt the third blow. Left. Right. Left.

Marines were shocked that Garp would just take a beating but nevertheless, they stood still to their orders.

The barrage of punches continued, leaving no spaces for words between each punch but he could hear her constantly screaming 'why'.

The pummelling stopped.

She lifted her fist higher in the air, mustering all her strength in this one blow. But instead of a fist, he felt a warm tear fall on his cheek.

"..."

"Why-WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP LUFFY!" This woman, Dadan, cried. It was a voice so loud that her voice might break but it was a voice directed at him, accusing him. "Why did he have to die because he saved his brother?!"

Garp couldn't look at her in the eyes, nor could he look at the anyone else.

"You inhuman filth!" she grabbed him by the collar

"STOP! Stop Dadan-san!" Makino latched on to the Dadan's arms, shaking her head, gesturing for Dadan to lower her fist. "Don't blame Garp-san!"

"Makino..." Garp muttered.

"You guys are making too much noise in the morning!" another voice called out from among the crowd. A hint of grouchiness in the tone. It was the mayor of the village, Woop Slap.

Woop Slap didn't mind liveliness but hated boisterousness. But how he was able to differentiate between the two was still a mystery for all. If Woop Slap stepped in then it meant that he classified this situation as the latter and will deal with it immediately.

"Dogra!" The mayor shouted while he pointed with his cane towards the small man with a group of bandits behind him. "Take Dadan back to the mountains and let her cool her head!"

"R-Right!" The bandits quickly dragged their boss towards the mountains, back to their base. The villagers also kindly made way for them. Dogra would be lying if he mentioned he wasn't nervous, the constant stare from the mayor made him feel like he was exposed in many ways. That's why their pace mysteriously increased every once and a while as everyone watched them leave.

"Marines!" The mayor called out before he turned to face the group of subordinates behind Garp. They were indeed startled by the sudden change of pace. It was correct to say that they mayor didn't belong with the go-with-the-flow type people. "Go back to the ship for now, wait for after I discuss _something_ with him." he discreetly shot a small glance at Garp, who noticed, before turning to face the marines.

"B-but-"

"I said I need to discuss something with Garp." The marines flinched at the mayor's tone and ceased making any excuses. They could help but think that the mayor was starting a countdown from five. They didn't even want to think what would happen if he reached zero so before then, they scrammed.

The mayor let out a small sigh once both the bandits and marines were out of his sight. He turned to face Garp, with Makino carefully treating his injuries by his side, and spoke up. "Garp, what happened to Ace, the paper didn't mention whether he lived or died."

"Ace escaped on a warship, we couldn't find the wreckage..so he must be alive!" The mayor and Makino could feel a sense of relief from Garp as he said those words. Even if he was a man known for his tough love towards his grandsons, Makino and the mayor knew that deep down he was a big softy.

"So Fire Fist Ace escaped..."

"That's great!"

Garp's head shot up, eyes widened. "You guys...don't mind that Ace...escaped?"

"Huh?" The villagers looked at Garp weirdly. "Of course we don't! Ace is Luffy's brother!"

"That's right!"

"It doesn't matter if he's Roger's kid or not!"

Garp could feel the tears pooling in his eyes, but he held himself back at the last moment before his watery eyes formed tears. _This village really is...different from the other villages, Ace, I hope you've found another reason to live. _

He could still remember clearly the distinct feeling of fury when he visited the other villages who still cursed Ace's existence. The thought of tearing the village down and hunting each and every person who badmouthed his grandson popped up more than a few times. But that wouldn't be very befitting act of a marine, let alone the one who was classified a 'hero'. If his subordinates didn't stop him, then if would have been from a second to none for a sudden change in his title.

"huh?"

Garp perked up, on a completely different train of thought from earlier. _Did I just hear someone whinge? _There was nothing surprising or remarkably notable of the expressions of the villagers, so it meant that they either didn't hear such a whinge or it was something of a daily occurrence.

But a quick look at the mayor's expression settled the matter. There indeed was a 'whinge'. His expression was that of a realisation like 'oh yeah, I forgot' and a sort of annoyance, or was it exhaustion? Either which, it was such a vague expression, figuring it out would be the last of his problems.

"Makino, go on ahead and keep her company." The mayor said, palming his face while Makino ran off in the direction of her bar after giggling. He also didn't fail to notice more and more villagers follow behind Makino in the bar, their expressions were that of a child fawning over a cute animal of some sort.

Garp, or course, hid his surprise from his face. On the inside, however, was like a whirlwind of confusion. _Why do things keep giving me new things to ponder? Who was he talking about? What is happening in this village?_

It took a while for everything detail to sink into his mind. Garp was no detective, nor did like thinking much. Which may have been one of the few reasons he refused to be promoted to the higher rank. Just watching Sengoku do all the paper work made him nauseous, especially when stronger and stronger fellows appear in the grand line causing all sorts of havoc.

Anyway, the reactions and clues he caught on from the conversation earlier: Whinges, female, must have some form of cute factor and is a pain but can still capture one's heart, didn't help Garp at all with his 'deduction'. At this point, he might as well ask.

"Hey mayor-"

"Seems like you're having trouble understanding **everything** that's happening."

The mayor beat him to it but he still gave a nod in reply. He even emphasised 'everything' meaning that there was nothing Garp understood.

"Well, if you follow me you'll understand...about Luffy, and what happened over the past day." The mayor said, mystery imbued in his words.

* * *

"Garp, do you understand now?" The mayor asked, casually enjoying his glass of water while seated at the counter of Makino's bar.

"No. You've completely lost me. If I were halfway through a labyrinth, then you've would have brought me back to the start again." Garp replied seated next to the mayor, the whirlwind of confusion completely evolved into a tornado.

"Where should I start?"

"Anywhere-wait no." Garp thought about the little time he had and took back his decision. "Start there." pointing to the end of the counter, more specifically, a baby.

No ordinary baby to say the least. The baby, didn't look like it had aged a year, was devouring down copious amounts of food at no ordinary speed. The stacks of plates nearby clearly told Garp that it didn't just begin now.

"Ah, that's Lucy. We recently adopted her when we mysteriously found her at the doorstep." The mayor said.

Wow. Garp stared incredulously at the mayor. Surely the explanation wasn't over just like that right? The only thing he explained that surprised Garp was that, the baby was a girl. To tell the difference between a boy and girl when they are just a baby must have been an ultimate technique or ability, but only if they are wearing clothes.

One look at the baby, he had guessed, if not immediately, that it was a boy. It indeed have plenty of cute factors like the big eyes, rosy, chubby cheeks and small stature. But she was devoid of any femineity. Some half-eaten food would occasionally fall from her mouth, creating stains all over her clothes. Considering the ridiculous amount she has eaten, her stomach, was no doubt bulging out, completely exposing her belly button.

"..."

Now that Garp thought about it, he couldn't really put his finger on where she didn't seem feminine. Babies all look generally the same appearance wise, but somewhere in his gut, there was that unsettling feeling. And overall, she reminded him of someone...

Scruffy, black hair, scar under eye, a monstrous appetite and...and...

"Shishishi!" she smiled.

...a weird laugh and a carefree, beaming smile.

"Luffy..." Words escaped Garp's' lips as his eyes widened.

"It's Lucy." The Mayor corrected.

"Are your ears failing you already?" with a follow-up attack as well.

"Sorry." He shook his head to relieve himself. "They are just so similar."

"Similar is an understatement." the mayor said

"What are you..."

"Garp, is this the question in your mind:_** How are they so strong? **_" the mayor said, changing the subject of discussion. He knew that what Garp wanted to know, and what he needed to convey to Garp, go hand in hand.

Bulls-eye. That is exactly what Garp wanted to know. How were they, who also loved Luffy, able to continue smiling happily and move forward? Leaving Dadan as an exception here, the answer was not as simple as forgetting, nor was it because they didn't actually love Luffy all that much and didn't care.

"Don't overestimate us." The mayor said, almost as if in response to what Garp was thinking."yesterday...we were all given a push from a small hand."

**xxxxxxx**

_"MAYOR!" A single villager boomed into the bar where the mayor and Makino were playing cheerfully with the small baby giggling on the counter._

_"What's wrong...you're awfully...unkempt." The mayor muttered, noticing how he was garbed: a shoe on his left leg, half-worn sock on the other, an unbuttoned up shirt which was put on backwards and frizzy bed-hair. It wasn't 'like' he ran here after waking up, there was a high chance he actually did. _

_"Read this!" he shouted, disregarding his appearance, throwing the news article towards Makino. The mayor didn't realise at first, previously distracted with his appearance, but a great deal of anger, shock and especially sadness were present in his eyes. _

_Bang. _

_Clash. _

_The mayor turned towards Makino who had backed away from the newspaper, as if it were some monster, and crashed against the stacks of wine behind her. Her eyes were dilated, tears trickling down her cheeks, hands cupped over her mouth and complexion dropping several tones paler. _

_She dropped to the floor, energy drained from her legs. _

_"...no way...no..." she wept._

_"Makino, what's wrong?" The mayor asked, unable to understand why she was making that expression. Why the villagers suddenly flooded the bar, supporting each other, lending each other their shoulders to cry on. _

_"..." _

_Makino was in too much of a shock to reply so the mayor relied on himself and leaned forward to witness the article. _

_"That battle-Luffy..." Makino bit her lower lip as some sort of stopper to control her flowing tears._

_"-!"_

_"...died..."_

**_xxxxxxxxxx_**

"After we found out the news, everyone, even I..." Mayor continued.

Garp clenched his fist, the nightmare from the battle flashed before his eyes, and the feelings he felt resurfaced from the depths of his heart.

The pure feeling of relief and happiness when both his dear grandsons were escaping, tainted by anguish and guilt when Luffy breathed his last as Ace broke down.

Selecting the path of a pirate or a marine meant that death would always be around the corner. So when Akainu's magma fist tore through Luffy's body, it occurred to everyone, whether they accepted it or not, that 'death' was going to take that boy away.

Ace knew. Akainu knew. He knew. Luffy knew.

He just couldn't accept it, or else he would have gone mad. He would have...

"...lost it."

**xxxxxxxxxx**

_The mayor's thought temporarily ceased. The headlines. Makino's words. Her premonition was spot on. His cane dropped to the floor with a clank._

_The stopper was overwhelmed. Just like how Makino's legs gave out, everyone else's did too. Echoes of tears and cries echoed through the room while everyone simultaneously vented out on the closest inanimate object. _

_The mayor looked fairly composed on the outside because his expression was hidden from the others by lying face down on the counter. Though on the inside, he was downright opposite of 'composed'. The morals and rules were blown from his mind like they were compacted up into a baseball and hit flying for a home-run. _

_"Marines are justice?"_

_Were they supposed to believe that the marines, who celebrated Luffy's death, as justice?_

_"Damn! What is right and what is wrong!"_

_The mayor banged his hand against the counter. _

_Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!_

**_xxxxxxxx_**

"Really?" Garp said softly, only loud enough for him to hear. His eyes were wide with shock, looking intently at the Mayor. Even if the recall of yesterday's events managed to stir up unpleasant memories, the Mayor's reaction genuinely sounded fake. He had never thought of the mayor express emotions in front of others, let alone say 'damn' while smashing the table. Surely, if the Mayor weren't the one narrating this memory, then Garp wouldn't have believed it.

"Garp, what's wrong?"

"Ah-ah no continue..." Garp replied, taking back his focus to the story, not even noticing Makino secretly place piping hot meatballs next to him."..so what happened?"

_Tug. _

_The baby. Her innocent eyes were trembling as she yanked-maybe pushed, her actions were too vague to differentiate-on the mayor's sleeve. _

_A chill of disappointment washed over him, realising what they had exposed to a learning child. "ah..sorry..."_

_"Ada!" she shouted. As expected of a baby, it wasn't very loud but almost as if it were telepathy, her small voice reached Makino and the others as their attention all gazed upon the small baby girl._

_She crawled towards the newspaper, flipping through the pages which no one tried to do because the front page had already struck them senseless._

_Arriving on the last page, she let it out for everybody to see, their eyes widening at Luffy's last regret less, gleeful smile. The smile they loved and thought would never see again, on that small boy who left aiming for his dreams with his head held high. _

_"shishishi!"_

_They all looked up._

_An unfathomable bright, sunny, and innocent smile on her face. As if it were embracing, as if it were warmly covering._

_"sbile!" _

_As nonsensical as it may be, they understood what she meant. May it be gibberish or baby language, she wanted to convey with all her heart: "smile."_

**_xxxxxxx_**

"and so we all thought...

_Not being able to respond a smile with a smile...what kind of adults would we be compared to this child? _

"...and the owner of that small hand was Lucy."

"Wah..." Garp was too shocked for words. Was the answer really that simple? _Taking in what he has said so far, it's as if the mayor and the other are implying that...that..._

"Garp, have you read the article until the very last page?"

"No...I've only read the headlines."

"Liar. That look on your face clearly tells me that you haven't **touched **the paper."

The Mayor magically pulled out the article and threw it in front of Garp. He simply said "here." but it held such authority that Garp could not resist.

Garp's hand trembled while reaching out for the paper. What a laugh. The man feared by the other pirates as 'the fist' who constantly cornered Pirate King, Gold Roger, is scared of a newspaper?

"Garp." A call of his name. A deep stare. So simple yet so strong that it felt like an order. A order to 'hurry up.'

Unable to hold his composure under the stare of the mayor, Garp took a deep breath and slowly moved his hands towards it.

Garp knew of Luffy's smile at the end. It was BIG news at the headquarters, how he was able to smile like that. He couldn't really make out Luffy's smile back then and he hasn't taken a look at it since, but he wondered, does he really not have any regrets? Does he not hold any hostility? Will those eyes accuse him for not trying to save Ace? That was what Garp feared, and it weighed his shoulders down.

Roger was one of a kind, the only person Garp knew that accepted his death and smiled wholeheartedly. Sure, Luffy was considered similar to Roger but. But.

_Come to think of it...Smoker may have or may not have told me something about him smiling during his 'execution' at Loguetown..._

"GARP." The mayor's voice was rising but the meaning remained the same. Garp's finger hovered on the tip of the page, ready to turn.

Flip.

Second Page.

Flip.

Third Page.

Flip.

Last Page.

His hand was trembling. Even more so then before and just sat there, staring at the paper blankly in silence.

A clear photo that captured a special moment that he failed to see at the war. The younger one had his hands draped over the shoulders of the other, desiring physical support. But at the same time, his hands that weakly attempted to hug expressed his emotional support to the older one who was on verge of breaking down.

Those eyes that were half-open, clearly expressed how glad he was to save his brother. Long-forgetting his pain and the man who just pierced him. But, his half-closed eyelids literally meant that he was already demanding too much of his body. Nevertheless, he demanded even more from his scorched lungs by screaming, causing blood to splutter out of his mouth. Despite everything, he grinned before his time stopped with an unbridled elation.

"Garp...do you get it now?" The mayor finally said as he stared at a small damp mark on the counter; its colour was a few hues darker.

"eh?"- Garp gasped, noticing some watery substance brim in his eyes, blurring his vision.

"I'm sure...he wanted to thank you and everyone but he body didn't allow him to say anymore, so I think he instinctively knew that he would die before he finished and so he left the smile in its place."

"Luffy may be stupid, but that's the way he is."

Drip. Drip. drip. drip.

"Ahhh..." The mayor sighed, "Just let it all out." and peered at the older man next to him, noticing that his shoulders suddenly looked lighter.

Garp glanced up at the mundane roof and his eyelids were shut closed. They were acting as a substitute, to stop the currents of suppressed grief that broke through his mask of 'acting normal' and coursed its way down his face.

"Geez,-I'm-not-crying." He said between sobs, not a hint of persuasiveness behind his words.

* * *

"To think I'd see the day when you cry." smirked the Mayor, 'discreetly' sending Garp the look of 'I've gotten hold of one of your embarrassing moments.'

"Hahahahahah! I'm telling you I didn't cry." Garp retorted back in a half-cheery, half-annoyed manner. _Tsk I hope his old age helps him lose some memories._

_This guy is such a bad liar! I can see where Luffy's lying abilities come from. Geez, this guy is such a hassle, he's back to his normal self already. _The mayor grunted and looked away from Garp, too tired to protest against him when he has 'revived'. As he made sure no one saw him, he shot a faint smile and whispered softly. "I'm glad you're back Garp."

"Eh? Mayor did you say something?"

"SHUT UP!"

Garp stepped back at the sudden yell from the Mayor but he noticed the faint blush on his cheeks as he attempted to avoid eye contact. "Thank you." He also said silently.

"CHEERS!" screaming the group of villagers who were still rejoicing.

"They're still going?" Garp asked. "How long has it been already?"

"They can go on for an entire day. Told you taking care of a kid is tiring, I feel Dadan's pain when you dumped both Ace and Luffy on them."

"It can't be that hard can it?" Garp said while picking his nose in his most casual manner, showing off a condescending smirk to the mayor.

A vein in the mayor's head popped. _The second he feels better, his selfishness bounces backs! Now I wish I didn't help him! _"GARP! ALL YOU EVERY DO IS CHUCK YOUR GRANDSONS INTO FOREST FOR THE NIGHT! WE HAVE TO COOK 5 MEALS A DAY TO FEED HER! LOOK! OUR COOKS ARE GETTING DEFEATED ONE BY ONE!" he angrily pointed towards the corner of spent cooks.

"..no more..."

"...her stomach is bottomless.." another groaned unconsciously.

"HAHAHAHAH! As expected of my grands-" Garp stopped before he spoke 'grandson' realising a few things. One: the baby is actually a girl. Two: the mayor changed the subject twice before he even questioned. Three: She isn't even his grandchild.

"Mayor, what were you saying about the two being more than similar?"

"What?" The mayor could help but be surprised about the sudden leap in the discussion.

"Luffy and Lucy, I mean."

"Right, right I know. I think that while Lucy is Lucy, she is also Luffy. That's what I mean when I say similar is an understatement."

"Ohh..ohhh...so kind of like a mystery baby right?" Though Garp wore an expression of dawned enlightenment, what he said made no sense at all. The mayor noticed this and palmed his face thinking, the peculiar expression of the Monkey D. family where pretend you understand it when you actually have no idea strikes again.

Mayor decided that it may be for the best if he just slowly explains it step by step instead of pointing out to Garp how bad he is at lying again and again.

"Name the similarities between Luffy and Lucy."

"Ugh sure." Garp replied. "Hair, laugh, smile, scar, bottomless stomach-"

"Stop." The mayor called out before Garp could finish. "Now name the differences."

Garp was perplexed as to why answering these string of question would help but nevertheless he still answered. "Gender...gender...gender...and.." Garp squinted his eyes at Lucy, thoroughly inspecting her. "what else is there?"

"No, you got one out of two right."

"There are only two differences?!" Garp exclaimed, the way he said it made it hard to tell whether he meant it as a statement or a question. "what's the other?"

"Devil Fruit."

"Garp, their differences start and end with gender and the fact that one ate the fruit and the other didn't."

"..." Garp was at a loss for words, the picture got clearer bit by bit.

"Did I tell you, we found Lucy outside after we saw a crane **three days ago**, almost just after the war."

Once again, Garp didn't answer.

"I won't believe such a coincidence like this. "

Garp thought about the meaning behind the mayors words. Right after Luffy dies at war, a mysterious baby appears out of no-where in the East blue, right where Luffy was born and has splitting features to that of Luffy. Could this be classified as just a mere coincidence? But if it wasn't then it couldn't only mean...

"Luffy **is** Lucy." both men said simultaneously at the fact.

"But," The mayor continued. "When I found her, the note had 'Lucy' written on it."

Bang. The mayors words finally hit a nerve in Garp's brain.

"If the other marines find out about her, they will definitely capture her." Garp's expression turned unusually stern. "She will have to go into hiding like Ace and Luffy did in their childhood." he forced the lump of regret in his heart for having to keep another child away from society because of their lineage.

"However, if Lucy really is Luffy," the mayor said, still a hint of doubt in his heart. "Then fate may draw the gum-gum fruit and her together again. If that happens and the marines find out..."

"Akainu won't stay still. That stubborn man with a great sense of pride would probably flip the world over to annihilate Luffy- I mean Lucy."

"..."

silence.

Garp banged his hands on the counter. "Yosh, I'm leaving!" he announced.

"What are you planning?"

"I'm going to find that fruit! Besides, I have orders to from the HQ to search for it anyways."

"Your chances are slim, but good luck." the mayor said.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! I WILL DEFINETELY FIND IT!"

"The ability to say everything with conviction with no supporting basis is another trait of your family." The mayor muttered.

"IF THAT FRUIT ENDS UP IN THAT PIT HOLE OF A STOMACH," he shouted glancing at Lucy who still hadn't stopped eating. "I'LL SHAVE MY HEAD BALD!"

"It's not like you had much hair anyway."- is what the mayor wanted to say but he stopped himself. The Garp right now was planets away from the Garp earlier. If he teased Garp the way he did earlier he wouldn't be left off the hook that easily.

"Garp-san, before you leave you should finish your meatballs." Makino kindly joined the conversation. "After all, you only have three left."

"Meatballs? Makino when did you give me this?"

"Earlier, weren't you the one who ate them? I gave them to you on a plate, there were around 10."

Garp had no idea what she was on about because he hadn't eaten anything yet. But he quickly dismissed the fact and concluded that someone, like the mayor ate it when he wasn't paying attention. For now, the last three were his.

He sat down at the counter again and started drooling at the sight and aroma of the meatballs. How did he not notice this earlier? Just the smell was stimulating his taste buds. He punctured a fork in one of them and brought it to his mouth.

"Mmmm" he chewed on the meatball, savouring the taste.

He once again lowered his fork-surprising the mayor to see he was using utensils instead of his hands-but only heard the sound of the fork hitting the glass plate. He glanced down and only saw one of his meatballs left.

"Hey mayor, there were three left right?"

"yeah."

"Mayor, three minus one is two right?"

"yeah."

"Then how come there is only one left?"

"Maybe you accidentally ate two?"

"..." Garp glanced back at his plate wondering whether he really ate two or not. Oh well, he better enjoy the last one at least.

As he was going to stab the last meatball with his fork in slow motion, he was planning to accelerate down on the meatball like an eagle does with its prey. Squish. He successfully captured the meatball on the fork. But the problem was the two small fingers that were also grabbing onto it, the small fingers attached to a pair of **long** arms.

"Jeez! Luffy stop stealing food from oth-"

But, just as he was going to scream at his grandson like usual, his thoughts caught up with his actions. Monkey D Luffy, his grandson who died at war just a week ago. Would someone who had just died be stealing meatballs off another's plate-

He looked at the owner of the hands. It was Lucy, pouting like a sulky kid.

"Garp, do you want to borrow my shaver?"

* * *

**A/N: **hoped you enjoyed it :)


End file.
